For Better Or For Worse
by ComradeChicken
Summary: Barry and Co find out the hard way that not all breaches lead to Earth 2. Featuring: My Sole Survivor, Phoenix, and Paladin Danse.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own The Flash nor Fallout.** **I also apologize for this being the worst chapter I've written in my life.**

For Barry Allen, it was a good day. Well, as good of a day it could get for a crime fighting superhero. They hadn't had any reports of Metas in a while, and the criminals were all too easy.

But how easy could it really be for the Flash?

Barry's phone rang, and he couldn't help but internally groan. Of course, something was going wrong. "Cisco?" He answered.

"Yeah, I got something interesting for you here," Cisco replied. Barry was wary of his tone.

"Something more interesting than Metahumans?" He asked.

"Ahh...yeah you could say that" Cisco said, revealing a certain awkwardness in his voice. "There's some reports of...zombies?"

"Are you joking?" Barry asked. What was the limit, really? He had no clue whether or not he should believe his co worker.

"Nope. Zombies. Don't seem too content to leave this warehouse, but it's a real bother to the workers in the area to be attacked every time they get near."

"How long have they been there?"

"Can't tell, the warehouse hasn't been used since last year. But here's something to think on: we detected a breach."

Barry gawked into the empty space in his 'office' at the CCPD. "I thought we closed them all!"

"Essentially we did. See, this breach has a different sort of frequency, so we couldn't pick it up before. I tested some different programs and surprise! There's a breach. My guess is that it doesn't go to Earth 2."

"But how are they getting through? Don't you have to go a certain speed to get through the breaches?"

"Well...maybe? Look, Barry, there's probably some unknown factor that we aren't thinking of"

Barry nodded, although he knew that Cisco couldn't see him. "Right. On it."

With a few streaks of lighting, Barry got his suit and headed towards the warehouse.

Barry skidded to a stop. The warehouse was eerily quiet. All he could hear was the dripping of leaking rain water. He pressed his fingers to his com. "I don't see anything" he started, but was interrupted by a growling sound. He looked in the direction of the sound to see something crawling over some boxes. Once he noticed the one, others seemed to seep out of cracks and crevices.

"Scratch that! I found them!" He yelled. Before he could do much of anything, they were already on top of him. He yelled, then ran around to confuse them, which worked for the most part. He didn't expect them to be so fast.

"Whoa, Barry, look out. You're taking radiation damage." Caitlin piped in.

"Help me, then!" He yelled unnecessarily.

"You have to just take them out, Barry. They're not human." Cisco said, although he could detect a hint of regret in his voice.

"Got it" Barry confirmed before gathering all of the zombies in the center of a ring of lightning. He would have to take them all out at once.

Once he had enough momentum, he tossed lighting at the group. They all screamed as they died at once. "They're dead." Barry said solemnly.

"Thank you, Barry" Caitlin said.


	2. Chapter 2

Caitlin measured the corpse with a Geiger counter. It was hard to tell it was her, considering she was in a hazmat suit. "It's not lethal" she explained. "But I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Barry stood with his arms crossed on the other side of the room. "It's definitely radioactive, I can tell you that much" Cisco said, reading some data off of the computer.

"So, what are they?" Barry asked. He was pretty upset. He didn't like to kill things, but he did realize that this was a necessity.

"They're basically zombies, we got that much" Cisco reported.

"But they don't have any sort of virus detectable in their systems. It seems as if long-term exposure to radiation did this to them. It likely deteriorated their brains to the point where they had no conscious thoughts" Caitlin finished in a distorted voice from the speaker in her suit.

"It's pretty freaky. My biggest fear? What kind of place did these people come from?" Cisco added.

"So how many more breaches are there?" Barry asked, solemn at the thought of a much worse earth.

"Not many. However, we don't know what else is going to come through one of them" Cisco answered.

Barry nodded. "We need to close them"

"We need time to create the bombs. For now, we just have to keep an eye on them. I've already set up a monitoring system on any activity from them. If it goes off, it will send an alert and location to your phone" Cisco said.

Barry thanked his team, said his goodbyes, then headed home for a long nap.

It was around three in the morning when Barry was rudely awakened by his phone. His stomach sank when it gave him an alert and a location. He sped out of bed to get to Star Labs. Cisco and Caitlin were already at the computers, although they looked tired. Two sleeping bags were spread out on the floor. Barry immediately regretted not staying with them.

Cisco gave him a thumbs up as he yawned. "We got you"

Barry sped away after a nod at the team. Unfortunately, he was not prepared to get shot at.

He was horrified to see blood and guts lying around the place. They smelled rotten, so he figured that it was not guts that belonged to anyone on this earth. However, he could not chalk it up to be animal remains, considering he could see very human appendages sticking out of some net bags.

He vomited, which got the attention of a few monsters that must have gotten through. They were big, ugly, and positively green. "What do you have?" Cisco asked, concerned by the sound of vomiting.

"Big ugly monsters who seem to collect human corpses" he answered, before ducking down when he was suddenly assaulted with gunfire. "With guns. They have guns"

"Die, human!" One of them bellowed.

Barry started to shake. "Barry, what's going on?" Caitlin asked.

"I...I don't know." Was all that he could get out before he heard a loud beeping. When he turned around, he saw one of the creatures about to slam his arms down. The beeping came from something in his hand.

He sped away before the hand came down, but didn't go far enough. The creature erupted in a mushroom cloud explosion. The same explosion threw Barry across the room. He could feel that his back was slightly burnt. "Barry!" Cisco yelled.

"That was a nuclear explosion, Barry. Please tell me you're okay." Caitlin said. He could hear her starting to tear up. Her voice shook.

Barry looked around him in a panic. There must have only been three of them. The other two laid in pieces on the floor. Barry vomited again. "Barry you were exposed to a lot of radiation. You need to get back here _now_ " Caitlyn told him in a commanding tone.

Without saying anything, Barry ran back to Star Labs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Enter: My Sole Survivor, Phoenix. I'd like to clear up that while this is the character I play with in game, Danse and Phoenix do not have the type of relationship portrayed in this story. It's just easiest to have Danse be the hardcore Brotherhood soldier and for Phoenix to be the newcomer-knight.**

Barry was wrapped in a bright orange shock blanket. Caitlin was monitoring his health, this time without the hazmat suit. It was probably to comfort him.

She put her hand on his shoulder. She, too, was shaking. She'd experienced so much loss already. He couldn't imagine what would happen to her if he died. "Your system has worked out all the radiation. You're safe, Barry."

He looked her in the eyes. "Thank you, Caitlin."

The computer made a beeping sound. Barry's heart raced a little faster than normal. Caitlyn checked it out. "My analysis is finished." She commented. Barry's body relaxed on it's own accord.

Cisco was pacing the room, occasionally glancing at one of the corpses of the creature.

Caitlin cocked her head. "Well...this was also a human."

Cisco's eyes widened. He pointed at the creature. "That thing? That was a human?"

"Yup. Except there is definitely a noticeable difference in DNA. See, it's almost like it's evolved in some way. I've also found hints of a virus that might be related to the changes in DNA. But we have no known viruses known to cause this."

"How about the skin? The lack of sexual organs? Or how about the increased strength?" Cisco started to freak out.

"Don't forget the immunity to radiation. In a very...scientific sense, this is better than a human. Well, except for the violent nature." Caitlin explained.

Barry shook his head. "These breaches need to be shut down."

"And we're working on that. These can't be shut down the same way as the other breaches. We need time. But we promise, Barry, we're working on it," Caitlin tried to comfort him as much as she could. Although the whole situation was bad for everyone, they could see it had left some kind of scar on Barry. Metahumans were one thing, this was another. Metahumans were still people. They had motives, family, even a conscience. These...things...had nothing. The only thing on their minds was murder.

Barry unwrapped the blanket from his shoulders. "Let's just hope the next thing that comes out of one of those breaches isn't as bad."

Of course, for Barry Allen, shit always hit the fan at one point or another. It was in the afternoon, and Barry just had dinner with Joe and Iris. He leaned back in his seat, having just eaten some excellent chinese take-out. That was when his phone buzzed.

He pulled it out, knowing exactly what it was. God, these creatures seemed to find the breaches left and right.

The phone gave him a location. He covered his face, if only for a second. "Barry, is everything okay?" Iris asked, catching on right away to his dread.

He shot her a sad smile. "Nope. But what's a superhero supposed to do?"

Iris opened her mouth to say something, but Barry was gone before she had the chance. While he sped through Star Labs, he heard "Be safe," being shouted by Cisco.

His heart pounded as he skidded to a stop. This wasn't some abandoned warehouse. This was right in the middle of the city. A few people were running away, screaming. Some had blood splattered on his clothes.

Then he saw it. He wasn't sure how to describe it. Maybe the offspring of a dinosaur and an alligator. Whatever it was, it was huge, and was adorned with horns and long, sharp claws. He got there just in time to witness it rip all of the intestines out of a pedestrian. He had no time to be sick, he had to do something.

"Barry, we're watching through some traffic cameras." Cisco's voice rang through his ear. "You need to get people out of the area. The police are almost there, you just need to clear the area."

"Got it," Barry confirmed his instructions before grabbing people and bringing them a few blocks away. It only took about thirty seconds. Now, he was just left with the creature.

It immediately spotted him as the sole human left in the nearby streets. It let out a large roar, which took him off his feet, before it charged at him with great speed. It was upon him before he could do much of anything. As he started to run away, the creature swiped its claws at him. While it didn't gut him, it did go pretty deep and sent him flying a few feet. He yelped in pain. He heard a gasp from Caitlin.

Just before the creature took another swipe, a bright flash from behind Barry staggered the creature. Then, it was being assaulted by red beams. It roared in pain.

Barry spun his head back. There were two people decked in large, bulky armor. One of them, a male with no helmet, had a symbol on this chestplate. It looked like a pair of wings with gears and a sword. The other person, who he could not determine gender due to the helmet, had similar armor. The red laser was coming from the gun used by the male. The other had a larger weapon, which had blue energy wanting to explode out of the barrel. "I've got this, Paladin," The other person said. The voice sounded female.

She took her aim, then fired. The shot was accompanied by a streak of blue energy. Once it collided with the head of the creature, it's head popped right off. When it's limp body fell to the ground, it caused a shockwave.

After taking everything in, Barry stood up. He pointed to the two of them. "You two. I need you to come with me."

The man took aim at Barry. "Who are you to command me?"

The female pushed her arm in front of him. "Danse. Look around you."

He took a glance around him before it turned into a gawk. He lowered his weapon. "We'll go with you," The woman said before looking down at his chest. "No, wait, that Deathclaw got you pretty good."

Before Barry could respond, she stabbed him in the chest with a needle. He yelped. "What the hell?"

"Barry, your healing faster than normal" Caitlin told him. He did feel a lot better, he had to admit.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

She cocked her head slightly. "A...stimpack?"

"God, you can't just go stabbing people with needles!" He yelled. She had no reaction.

"Are we leaving or are we just going to sit here and complain?" Danse added. Barry frowned, but he was right. He motioned for them to follow him. He did, however, snatch the head for Star Labs to examine.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, you made it this far. Congratulations! Yes, I am aware that this story is a piece of shit. But it was just a fun piece I wrote all in one day because I was bored. Anyway, I'm glad if you enjoyed it.**

Iris and Joe were already at Star Labs, having seen what happened on the news. They looked the newcomers up and down, unsure of what exactly to think of them. Sure, the man was one thing. But they couldn't even see the female.

Just as Barry thought of that, there was a beeping sound, and then a release of air. The armor pieces on her body started to slide away, allowing for her to exit. "Soldier," The man scolded her.

She hopped out. They had to admit, she certainly wasn't ugly. She had bright blue eyes, paired with soft brunette hair, which was pulled into a messy bun. Her face was adorned with a large birthmark on her left cheek, and multiple scars. She wore a revolutionary period military jacket. "I don't think that these guys are going to be like the raiders or gunners, Danse."

She pulled something yellow out of the back of the armor, then showed it to Danse before pocketing it. "Who are you two?" Joe asked.

"This is Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel. I'm Phoenix, General of the Minutemen as well as Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel." She said, putting her hands on her hips.

"What does that mean?" Iris asked.

She sighed. "That's what I thought. This place looks pre-war. Too clean, too many people. I see you guys collected some ferals and some super mutants, though."

Barry shed his mask. "Pre-war?" He asked.

"What year is this?" Danse asked.

"2016. What year are you guys from?" Iris asked.

Phoenix shook her head. "No, that's not right. That can't be right. This technology...it's far too advanced for 2016."

"We're from the year 2277," Danse said, which took most of them by shock.

"Well, technically," Phoenix added. "I was from 2077, then I was cryogenically frozen for 200 years. Slept right through the war."

"So, you're probably not aware, but not only did you travel through time, you traveled to a different universe." Cisco said. Danse scowled.

"Wow," Phoenix said. "I just can't stay where I'm supposed to, can I?"

Danse put his hands out. "Wait. How is this possible?"

"Well...we may have created a paradox which made a giant black hole in the sky, which managed to get closed but created rips into other dimensions…" Barry answered.

"Fantastic," Danse answered sarcasm basically dripping from his mouth.

"So we'd like answers from you now. You said these things were feral ghouls and super mutants?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes," Phoenix said as she walked over to a corpse. "This is a feral ghoul. It was exposed to so much radiation that it started to lose it's hair, smooth skin, and after a while, higher brain activity. Beforehand, ghouls are pretty cool people. Basically immortal."

"They're abominations and should all be killed." Danse said, annoyance in his tone. "You're a soldier now, and you shouldn't be advocating for ghouls, synths, or any other god forsaken creature of the such."

Phoenix glared at him. "His is not the time to be discussing the Brotherhood's hate, Danse."

"You've seemed to have forgotten that I am above your rank, Knight, and I suggest that you don't test me," Danse scolded her. Nobody else seemed to know what to say or do about the situation.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, this is a Super Mutant. They're 'evolved' humans. They were people infected with the FEV, or Forced Evolutionary Virus. Obviously, something went wrong."

"And what was that...thing?" Joe asked.

"That was a Deathclaw. It was a product of radiation exposure to the Jackson Chameleon, as well as bioengineering." Danse answered this time, having once studied the history and science behind the deadly creatures.

"What kind of world do you guys live in?" Caitlin asked solemnly.

"A shit hole. All of the creatures try to kill you, most of the humans will try to kill you, and even breathing in the air gives you radiation sickness." Phoenix said. There was a hint of anger in her tone. Perhaps, Barry thought, for the world she had to leave behind. She did mention something about a war.

"Which means we should probably begin some sort of evacuation from our earth to this one," Danse said. This sudden announcement took everyone by surprise.

"I...well...I suppose so?" Cisco stated. How could he deny such a request? A request to save people from a living hell?

"No," Phoenix said. "We're not doing that."

Danse looked like he could have ripped her head off. "What was that, Knight?"

"I said no. Look what damage we've already caused. People are dead, Danse. Because of our world. What do you think is going to happen if people come over here? Those people...they have never known this life. They don't know a life where if someone wrongs you, killing them is not the solution. And are we going to exclude raiders and gunners? They're people too, but they're sick. They don't know right from wrong. We'd introduce a whole bunch of criminals to this world, but would we have any right to exclude them from having a different life? This...is not this world's burden to bear. This world did not destroy itself in its insatiable thirst for destruction. This is our problem to deal with. Alone." Phoenix ranted.

"You would be condemning a whole planet to death," Danse said, although he didn't seem too convinced.

"Really? I thought the Brotherhood was about helping the people. Solving our issues. I read some files, Danse. There was one about Project Purity in there. Someone figured out how to purify the water. That was ten years ago. How much further have we come? We're dealing with the issue. We're fixing it. But this? This isn't the answer."

"If it helps, I've figured out how to close the breaches," Cisco added.

Danse stared at her for a good thirty seconds, his face devoid of any emotion whatsoever. "Perhaps you're correct."

"Nobody knows we came over here. No one has to know about this," She said.

Danse sighed. "This will be kept between us, Knight. For our safety."

She smiled. "Thank you, Paladin."

Barry could have been wrong, but he thought he saw a smirk etch its way onto Danse's face. "Okay, you," Phoenix pointed towards Caitlin. She looked slightly surprised. "I need to to burn the corpses of the ghouls and Super Mutants, and delete any info you found about the FEV. Our mistake with that had lead to the deaths of hundreds, probably thousands of people. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands. Destroy it. Forget it existed, because it really didn't."

Caitlin nodded. "Then we shall return to our earth, and you will close the breaches. Do not let anything else through." Danse said.

Phoenix pulled the yellow thing back out of her pocket and placed it in the back of her armor. She jammed it in with a slam from her fist, then entered it. "Thank you for your cooperation. It was nice to see something other than forgotten ruins. So, uh, where's the nearest breach?"

"I'll show you," Barry said. The trio exited the room, leaving a strange feeling lingering about.

Caitlin started to go into her files, and was ready to hit 'delete' when Cisco grabbed her by the arm. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean? I'm deleting the files like she said."

"Okay, but what if you don't? What if we keep researching into it, make it better. Maybe fix what was wrong?"

Caitlin narrowed her eyes. "Cisco, no. She said delete the files. This is dangerous stuff. Besides, she was the oldest of the two, and she was from 2077. That's still sixty one years ahead of us. I severely doubt we could fix it."

Her finger collided with the delete button, and the files were gone. Hours of work disappeared without a trace, but Caitlin had no regrets. Cisco let out a breath, but did not seem too displeased. "I think we could have done more," He said.

"You did the right thing," Iris added, before leaving.

"Iris is right. Good going, Caitlin. Glad to know some people listen to blatant warnings from people from the future. It's almost like she was trying to save people's lives," Joe said, raising his eyebrows. "Anyway, I've got to get back to work. I'm sure people will be wondering about the corpse of the irradiated lizard in the middle of town. Good luck with your crematory."

They only walked a few blocks south, and nobody seemed to be in the general area. Still, Barry covered his face before exiting the building. He found it strange how the two of them never asked why he was wearing the costume. He figured that the outfits in their world must have been stranger. "Well," Barry said, coming to a stop. "This is the closest one."

Phoenix extended her hand. "Thank you for your help. We appreciate it. If anything else comes out before you're able to close the breaches, just shoot to kill. Unless it's people, then wait. But be careful. If it's raiders, they'll probably try to kill you as soon as they see you."

"The Brotherhood is indebted to you. Perhaps this means nothing to you, but know, in our world, it means a lot," Danse said. Barry had the feeling that this was the most emotion he would be able to find in the man.

He smiled. "Thank you. I just hope this trauma can go away."

"Just don't be like Hancock. Stay away from drugs," Phoenix said as she backed into the breach, where Barry would never be able to see her again. Danse followed not long after. He was slightly sad that he would never know why the lady was telling her not to be like patriot John Hancock, but perhaps that was something better left unsolved. He ran back to Star Labs to collect the devices to shut down the breaches, but something else was on his mind.

While she was talking about the earth that they lived on, she seemed legitimate. But now that he thought about it, she knew nothing about this earth. Hell, they didn't even know anything about Metahumans. They never saw one, they never commented on anything. Yet, somehow, she still knew that they had problems.

He smiled. Danse was really lucky to have such a spirited woman on his team. He was disappointed that she had to live in that earth. However, perhaps it was for the best. Sometimes, in the darkest of times, people need a light.


End file.
